ausf

Nice!

I see what you mean about no depth in that hull, sheesh.

TheBennyB

Thanks Jeff, yea pretty tight in this sucker.

TheBennyB

The first attempt at flash in the barrel and recoil. Cut the stock solid barrel in half and started boring it on the lathe. Will reassemble with some brass tubing and epoxy after running the wires through for the flash Led. The end will be widened and an extension added to attach to a recoil linkage from a servo. brass tubing will also be used to marry the muzzle break to the barrel and allow wires to pass freely.

yellowshaker

My Feedback: (1)

Very nice work Bret!

TheBennyB

Haven't seen many build threads on this kit so as you can guess if you've been following this it has sort of become one. Small update. Scalloped out the muzzle break a bit to fit a 5mm led for muzzle flash. The brass tubing will be used to attach to the stock barrel which I bored out.

Sebbe335

Hello!

Any news about rotating turret and recoil unit?

Just resumed my Puma build after collecting a lot of dust...
I have tried many ways to get rid of the steering slope like different angles on the middle steering things and so on but I just cant get rid of it.. Hard to get the vehicle go straight forward...

Also is annoyed that when I apply throttle it takes 2-3 seconds before it moves, I understand this should be scale to simulate gearing but its just annoying...

Like your barrel build Benny, I will copy that. Did you use any special 5mm led? Is it Red flashlight?


//Sebbe

TheBennyB

Hey Sebbe, good to see you on here again. No news on the traverse and recoil units from MO. Last I heard was summer which probably means this fall. Mine has sat and collected dust as well as I've moved onto other projects. I'm waiting on a new stock puma barrel as I got off center on one bore I did. The led is a standard 5mm orange to match most tanks on the battlefield. Yes there is way too much slop in the steering assembly. Most has to be in the bearings/posts on the cambers. Mine actually isn't too bad, but I"m sure this is different with every model either in production or assembly just due to the tolerances allowed during manufacturing. Yes I also agree the momentum and throttle responses on the elmod Puma board are unacceptable. I've contacted Xion and El mod and both blew me off saying I'm the only one that has complained. With the momentum and throttle responses so sluggish on the el mod board there is basically no way to battle this vehicle effectively. Think elmod only had sunday drivers in their backyard in thought when they came up with this board.

BludoTheSmelly

Thought about one of those but i heard some bad things about them as well.

TheBennyB

Really it's not a bad kit, just had to do some tinkering to bring it up to my standards of performance and reliability. Same with any kit really whether it's a Traxxas truck, Atomik boat, Tamiya tank, Align heli, etc. My only real complaint is the Elmod board which just doesn't have the programmable parameters on this board compared to their tank boards for some reason.

TheBennyB

While waiting on some parts for other projects thought I'd get back on the Puma. Got all the boring done on the barrel and the assemblies.
Dry fit looks pretty good. Next will be fabricating a bracket for the recoil servo and elevation linkage as well as boring out the gun sleeve so the barrel and travel cleanly.

manchu9inf

isnt there a kit coming out for turret rotation and gun elevation?

TheBennyB

Not going to hold my breath on that one Will. Elevation is possible in the stock kit with a servo, the next units are suppose to provide recoil and traverse but haven't heard anything lately on a release of those units.

Sebbe335

Hello!

I just saw on Xion.de site that they releasing a new type of drive shafts to the puma. Maybe worth to invest in? Have problem in tight turns that the shaft could fall out they pockets, maybe the new version is a better solution?
Still waiting for rotating turret then... I tried to 3D print a gear but it was to much slope

Link to the new shafts: https://shop.xion.de/SDKFZ-234/1-4-u...v6kduuu80m5nb0


//Sebbe

TheBennyB

Yea, I documented this when then black driveshaft and o ring addition came out. This is easily fixed by pushing the axle cups out further than recommended in the manual. I went out another 1-2mm with the cups on each side. New axle's look nice.

manchu9inf

When are they coming out with the rotation and elevation?

TheBennyB

Elevation is already there. no word on recoil or traverse though.

manchu9inf

yah, that is what i meant to say!

Sebbe335

Hello!

Small update. The rotating turret is solved, I find a kit at ludwigs hobby that was made for the puma. So its now fitted and working. I maybe add some wheels so the turret can rotate a bit "cleaner"..
I also installed a MG led beside the cannon. Only need to fix recoil, I have an idea I will try... Also got it painted, just need to add the green camouflage and some weathering. It was possible to drill a hole through the barrel without split it in two. I used a 2mm long drill and drilled half way at each end in the lathe with very slow feeding..

Also expect to receive the new swing shafts today!
I can tell you its going to be a tight fit inside it, also working on fitting a smoke unit inside, probely need to make a custom tank there...

//Sebbe

TheBennyB

Nice, let us know how the new shafts look. Thanks for the heads up on Ludwigs rotation option, is the unit glued to the upper? Modelspigel has a gearbox upgrade, but not sure I want to throw that much at it yet.

http://www.modellspiegel.com/s/cc_im...G?t=1461090484

TheBennyB

While working on a recoil for the Puma I noticed the stock barrel doesn't leave the gun tube fully. There is taper on the barrel and it should be fully exposed from the gun tube. I put the barrel on the lathe and turned down about 5mm of materail from the back collar of the barrel. The taper now extends through the gun tube and the gap that was around the barrel with the stock length is also taken up. Here are some comparison and before and after pics.

ausf

Xion should put you on their product testing/review team Brett.

These things should be addressed before production hits the street.

TheBennyB

Know what your saying Jeff. You know how these "boutique" outfits are though. Rush to production and not many people will realize whats up anyways. They are atleast trying to improve on reliability with some of the drivetrain upgrades but really just bandaids. Still an incomplete kit as the traverse and recoil units are still unavailable and Carson at DKLM has hinted that they don't plan on releasing these units anytime soon. They apparently have a "new" project coming out soon that all their efforts (if we want to call them that) are on. Still a cool kit that's very unique, just needs quite a bit of tweeking to get up to decent r/c standards. Like I've said, this is definitely a motorized model and not a r/c kit. Same ballpark as the Bandai 1/15 tanks or the Imai Elefant as well as the old offerings from Andrew designs.

Sebbe335

Hello again!

Just wanted to give a "review" of the new swingshafts.

They came in little box and needed to be put togheter before use, however it took 3 paintaking hours to get them move freely, it had a litte bit to tight fit in the ballpin lock so i needed to grind them with a needle file and the material was very hard so it took some time. They also limit the maximum steering travel but you can file up them more to get more travel for the link but i find the maximum travel now is totally acceptable!
However the best part is that i have reduced the steering slope a lot now! The puma is trimmed straight now and doesn't change when centering. It could be worth the money and you don't have to be worried about any links falling out.

Cool that they produced a new gearbox for it, thank you for the tip. But i don't find it nessecary yet to buy. In the best of world a differential for each wheel would do soooo good for the model and save the gears.
And get rid of that annoying time to get the thing to move with elmod board! Argh! That's the only thing that's bother me with the model....

Soon time to apply last camouflage and then its time to mount everything finaly...


Regards from Sebbe

TheBennyB

Yea, the very low response on the throttle is almost a deal breaker for me especially in IR battling. I'm looking to put in an external crawler ESC to also add a drag brake as well as added throttle response. Thanks for the tips on the driveshafts.

Sebbe335

Hello again!

Its soo close to being finish now, just got some small detail work left. However I got a question, how much should the recoil go back? I made a easy solution for the recoil but need to know how much the barrel is supposed to go back?
It looks really good when assembled I promise. And also fun to drive except slow acceleration..
Soon some pictures of the final puma, only took almost 2 years to get it done...


//Sebbe